Never fear Brooklyn is here
by Racerchick
Summary: Sticky is your ordinary girl, except for two things, she's the leader of Brooklyn, and she takes care of her two brothers, anything is possible. Rated for later content
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Okay so this was a story I had up a while back but it was deleted and when going through to see what I'd try and finish up this c__aught my eye. I hope that you like it and that it makes sense, please tell me what you think._

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Everyone always thinks that I've been the leader of Brooklyn forever. Most of the newsies in Brooklyn don't remember any other leader and some of them are older than me. Believe it or not there was a time when I wasn't the leader of Brooklyn. There was a time when I was a weak kid, and I'm not saying just weak I'm saying scrawny and barely alive no thanks to the food that everyone tried to shove down my throat.

Spot Conlon was always a name people respected however, it didn't always come with "leader of Brooklyn" attached to it. In fact for the first five years of my life I wasn't even allowed to sell by myself much less control what other newsies did. My sister, Sticky, was the toughest newsie there was, for a girl that is. She knew where to go to win a fight and how to fight dirty enough to complete a task. It was Sticky's leadership that pulled Brooklyn through its biggest war ever.

As young children Sticky and I hailed from the land of Harlem. She was the oldest in our family of three. I was the youngest and as a result I was also the most annoying. Sticky and Soldier, my older brother, always wanted to keep an eye on me. I couldn't cross the street without holding their hand because it was "too dangerous." My guess is that this belief was installed in them by my great aunt Pearl, our caretaker until I was three when she died of pneumonia. That winter was the worst. We had little food, money, clothing or shelter.

Sticky became a good pickpocket and we survived off of the food and money she would bring home. Soldier and I had to stay hidden so that our uncle Leroy wouldn't find us and take us away. It isn't that we didn't love him it was just that he was so weird. He was always talking of different worlds as if he'd been to a different one. There were times when I believed him to be from planet Weirdo (give me a break I was only three or so.)

The day our lives changed was the day we met Frost, leader of the Harlem newsies. He was one of the toughest newsies out there and fell for our "sob story" taking us in during a horrid winter storm. That day was one of the coldest days I've ever experienced in my minuscule lifetime.

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"Lionel keep up!" Alex called back to me. He made sure I was still frozen to his hand before walking to talk with our sister. The air was a spicy cold that froze your throat when it touched it. Neither Alex nor Natalie wanted to be out in this weather but when you don't have a home what other choice do you have?

"I'm coming!" I yelled into the wind only to have my mouth filled with ice blasts of father winter.

"Alex keep him closer, he'll freeze to death out here." Natalie told him pulling his arm closer to her which in turn pulled me forward as well. "We'll have to stay here for a while, until the wind dies down a little." she said pushing us against an alley wall. The wind seemed to stop slightly thanks to the building blocking the main wind from our backs.

"I'm cold."

"We all are Lionel we've just got to make do with what we've got." Natalie told me in an

I know it all tone. That's how she annoyed me the most, her ability to make others think she knew it all when she really didn't. Alex nodded in agreement and pulled me closer to him and Natalie.

"Save your breath or you'll freeze faster." he said trying to sound smart but Natalie shook her head telling me it wasn't true. We were about to have another go at the walking to keep warm when he made his appearance.

We all watched as a tall boy, about 6'2" stepped into the alley and looked over at the frozen children in front of him. He was built strong and had sandy blonde hair. His eyes were the darkest of blues with specks of gold in them when the light hit them just right. He had a scar on his face that looked like someone had tried to gouge his eye out only to hit his cheek instead.

"What'cha doin' here?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Freezing what does it look like mister?!" I cried with anger as he looked warmer than I could even imagine.

"Lionel!" Alex said jabbing me in the ribs.

"Sorry about my brother he doesn't know his manners. We were just looking for a place to stay until this storm blows over." Natalie said making up for my lack of politeness.

"You can stay in the newsies lodgin' house for the night or until the storm rolls over."

"We can?"

"Sure. Its fine with me and that's all that matters."

"What about the other newsies?"

"I'm the leader, what I say goes." he explained to us offering a hand to Natalie. She looked skeptically from him to my brother and me. With a nod of our heads she took his hand and we all started down the street. Weaving in and out of alleys we made our way through Harlem finally coming to a stop inside of a warm building with the succulent smell of chicken coming from the kitchen.

"What's for dinner?" Alex asked as soon as his stomach realized he was hungry.

"Soup!" called a voice from the kitchen.

"Hey Mrs. Richardson is it okay if three of me friends stays here tonight with a discount?" the boy asked.

"Of course but the second night they better have rent payment." she called walking out of the kitchen to meet these friends. "Hello, I'm Mrs. Richardson. My husband and I run this here lodging house for the newsboys and girls of Harlem."

"I'm Natalie and these are my brothers Alexander and Lionel."

"Welcome." she said returning to the kitchen followed by Alex. As the boy turned to go up the stairs Natalie realized she didn't know who he was.

"What's your name?"

"Caldwell but Frost will do." he called back down the stairs.

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Okay so that was the first chapter, I certainly hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Natalie

"Natalie." I said pulling at the side of her dress trying to gain her attention. She looked down with a smile that made me sick knowing that she liked that boy. He was okay I guess, I never really gave him much of a chance. Taking my hand she walked down the hallway Alex had disappeared to coming to a halt in front of a room that was as warm as can be. Near the center was a table laden to the point of breaking with food. There were sandwiches and beans, salad and fruit. In the center was a giant pot of chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate for a drink. For dessert there was fresh made cake, white with chocolate frosting.

My eyes lit up at the sight of all this wonderful food and Natalie knew there would be no stopping my three year old body from trying to consume all of it. Alex was already sitting down stuffing his face full of soup and bread stopping only to breathe or take a drink from his mug. Natalie shot him a dagger filled look that said only to clearly 'where are your manners?' Alex sat up straight and began eating like a gentleman instantaneously with fear of getting scolded.

Natalie filled my a bowl of soup and a plate of fruit and vegetables, even though I complained I knew that she knew I would eventually eat them. After getting me settled next to Alex she brought me a mug of cocoa that I gratefully gulped down despite the searing hot pain that it induced into my mouth. Mrs. Richardson smiled and brought me a refill before I even had time to ask.

Mrs. Richardson was a short slightly portly woman with a cheery attitude that made me smile. Her cheeks were rosy and when she smiled she had a dimple on each cheek. She had a button nose and a snow white smile. Her eyes were the prettiest forget-me-not blue and twinkled as she smiled, which was all the time.

"Here you go child, drink up and eat up you three look positively famished." she said as she buzzed around the kitchen finishing the dinner for the rest of the newsies.

"Ma'am if I may ask, what's the occasion for all of this food?" Natalie asked with a questioning look.

"Why dear, you don't know?" Mrs. Richardson asked in surprise. We all looked at her with blank faces indicating that we didn't. "It's Christmas Eve." she said with a joy filled voice.

"Christmas, what's Christmas?"

"Christmas is a time of family and friends; it's a time of love and laughter. A time where you tell all the people you know how much they mean to you. Didn't anybody ever tell you about Christmas?"

"Sorry ma'am but our great aunt Pearl and us never had the money or time to celebrate Christmas." Natalie explained. It's true, great aunt Pearl had worked until she couldn't see anymore then Natalie and Alex had tried getting jobs to support us while I stayed home to care for our aunt. If there was ever a time to celebrate Christmas I'd like to know when and where it was.

"Oh don't be sorry, just think of it as a new tradition for you three."

Natalie nodded her head with her 'sure like that'll happen' face on. She fills her plate and a bowl up and comes to sit by us. We were almost done when a group of fifteen kids filed into the kitchen. At the lead was Frost. All of the kids wore pants that were held together by many patches and hundreds of stitches save for a few daring girls who wore dresses. The ones in pants had on button up shirts, also holey and in need of repair, and suspenders that were on the shoulder instead of hanging around the legs as was more customary to see. Faces were scrubbed clean and hair was combed and lay neatly on the heads of the group. Natalie, Alex and I stared into the warm eyes of the newsies of Harlem.

"Sorry wese late Mrs. Richardson, Ise just wanted ta make shoah dat everyone was clean for da celebrations." Frost said. Looking over to us he quickly corrected his error. "Des guys are me newsies. Fellas, dis is…" he paused, having never actually learning our names.

"Natalie, Alex and Lionel…" Natalie added for him.

Frost smiled and after filling a bowl of soup and sitting next to Natalie he started pointing out newsies and telling us there names. There was Goliath, Jet, Ace, Spade, Kit, Hopper, Shadow, Talcon, Chariot, Heart and many more. By the time Frost was done I had forgotten any name he'd said.

"How do you remember all of their names?" Natalie asked Frost.

"How do ya remember anythin? Youse just gotta get a lot 'a practice." he said finishing up his soup.

"Don't forget to thank Mrs. Richardson for the wonderful food you two." Natalie said as we were finishing clearing our plates. We nodded and bounded off to thank her.

"How do ya do it?"

"What?"

"Take such good care 'a ya brudders?"

"I've had a lot of practice. I've been their mother since the day Lionel was born."

"Oh, Ise sorry."

"Don't be. It worked out for the better I guess."

"Livin' on da streets is for da bettah?"

"Well if I didn't live on the streets I wouldn't have met you now would I?"


End file.
